Went and saw X tonight and now I'm kinda awake, so in order to give my brain something to do I think I'll make a character. No inspiration from the movie (it's tonally, erm, not a fit for this game), but that's fine.
The Game: Claim the Sky
The Publisher: Monte Cook Games
Degree of Familiarity: None with this particular game, but it's very much in my comfort zone
Books Required: Claim the Sky and the Cypher System core
Claim the Sky is a four-color superhero game using the Cypher System. Cypher has a few expressions of supers, including Unmasked, which I like - it's a more flexible system than I initially realized. The game has an included setting (called "Boundless"), which is basically the Marvel universe with the serial numbers filed off. I kinda like that, though - the problem with running games in an established comic book universe is that everyone has their own expectations about what the world and the famous characters are going to be like, and comic history is so long (and frequently dumb) that you wind up having to do a bunch of world-building by way of pruning anyway.
SO, with all that in mind, let's build a super-hero! Since I don't have an idea offhand, I'll use their random "generate an origin" table. It says to roll twice and pick your favorite or combine the two, so I'll do that and see what I get.
Hmm. 91 is "survived a disaster, unharmed" and 18 is "chosen one." Oh, well, those actually dovetail nicely. What's interesting is that depending on who/what chose me, I don't need to necessarily have invulnerability powers because it might have just protected me during the disaster.
You know, I haven't really drawn on oceans as an inspiration for a supers character (at least to my recollection, but there have been quite a few). Swamp Rat was kinda aquatic, but that's not quite the same thing. Anyway, I'll say that my character was caught in a hurricane. Everything near the coast, including his family's home, flooded, and many people died, but as the waves came in and tried to pull him back, something caught him. He found himself surrounded by a glow and he discovered he could breathe, and laughing voices teased him (in a flirty way) and asked if he was a hero or an adventurer. He doesn't know it, but the voices he heard were the Nereids. They granted him superpowers, and so he kinda feels like a chosen one - but of course, the Nereids are capricious, so who knows what they really have in mind long-term?
OK, decent start. So now I need the usual type, descriptor, and focus (I'm a(n) ADJECTIVE NOUN that VERBS). Let's start with type. That'd be warrior, speaker, explorer, or adept. I don't think speaker is really where I want to go with this guy - it could work, but eh. I usually lean towards explorers, but this guy is saying "warrior" to me. Not about fighting specifically, but definitely a more physical type of character.
Descriptor, then? I think Charming makes the most sense. My guy is likeable and sexy, and that's how he got the Nereid's attention.
Focus...this one's a little tougher. Sure, I could pick Explores Deep Waters, but a) that's really on the nose, b) it's not really what I want for this guy and c) I did it with another character. I want this guy - hang on, let's give him a name, at least for his normal life. Terry Houston! So, I want Terry's focus to be a little more on the mystical/divine side of things, I think. Oh, wait, perfect - Channels Divine Blessings. Cool, now that I have all my thingies chosen, let's make all the choices!
My type gives me 10 Might, 10 Speed, and 8 Intellect. I get to pick whether I want a point of Edge in Might or Speed. I think Might. Practiced with all weapons, and then I get four abilities from the warrior list. OK, well, I want Extra Edge so I have Speed Edge 1 as well. I'll take Physical Skills (swimming and jumping). I'll take Trained without Armor (so I'm trained in Speed defense). And I'll take No Need for Weapons to represent mild super-strength.
My descriptor gives me +2 to Intellect pool, bumping that to 10. I'm trained in all tasks involving pleasant social interaction, as well as any special abilities that let me influence minds or emotions. However, I also have inability in lore, knowledge, understanding, and willpower. Yeah, this was the right choice for Terry. Oooh, and I get a contact. Well, obviously that's the Nereids. I can ask them for help, but I have to be in the ocean, and they tend to be cryptic and/or busy.
Finally, my focus gives me all kinds of cool shit. I'm trained in knowledge of godly beings. And then I pick two areas in Blessings of the Gods. Well, this is easy: I want Desire/Love/Health (I can heal with a touch) and Water/The Sea (I can give others the ability to breathe water).
Right, now I get power shifts. I get five of these puppies, and they're basically just permanent levels of Effort to certain tasks. I want one in Resilience, one in Strength, and one in Dexterity, making me just all-around more physically capable. I'll put one into Power, specifically my "make people breathe water" power - I want that to last longer, and bumped up a step it would last an hour, which is fine. One more. I can take a prodigy shift, allowing me to exchange a tier-one ability for a higher tier one, but eh, I dunno, I like where I'm at. I guess I'll put the last one into Healing, which lets me take an extra one-action recovery roll.
And I think that's everything but the details! Terry was working in his family's fishing supplies store (probably in Florida; maybe Texas?) when the hurricane hit. After he was blessed by the Nereids, he's become aware of the larger world of superheroes, divinity, and so on, but honestly he's never been terribly good at book-smarts and he has trouble keeping it all straight. Terry does, however, have a good heart, and his new powers allow him to run, jump, swim, fight, and pose with increased ability.
Terry is a tanned and sleek young man in his early 20s. His hair would probably be darker brown if he lived inland, but he's out in the surf a lot (especially now) so it gets sun-bleached a bit. When he's doing superhero stuff, he wears tight lycra swim shorts and shirt; I'm thinking his color palette is blues and greens. He doesn't wear a mask, but his face always looks a little distorted, as though you're seeing it through the water (another little gift from the Nereids). As a superhero, Terry calls himself Aquamarine (he thought about Beryl or Maxixe, but they're hard to spell).
That'll do it!
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